Ohio teen arrested on arson, attempted-murder charges

Associated Press

CINCINNATI

A 14-year-old Ohio boy has been arrested on juvenile charges of attempted murder and arson after authorities said Thursday that he tried to kill his foster family by setting their house on fire, the second such incident in the region in a week.

Police and fire officials responded to the house fire Wednesday night in Wayne Township, 30 miles northeast of Cincinnati.

The teenager, a foster child from Franklin County who had been placed in the home, set it on fire in an attempt to kill everyone inside, said Butler County sheriff’s Lt. Mike Craft.

“He was just very adamant that he wanted them all dead,” Craft said about the teen’s police interview. “He didn’t go into details about why he was so unhappy. He just said, ‘If you let me go home now I’ll finish the job.’”

The boy’s foster mother had to pull the teenager from his own burning bed. He was taken to a hospital for smoke inhalation and minor burns before being arrested and ordered held in juvenile jail.

The five adults in the house at the time of the fire weren’t hurt.

It’s unclear whether the teenager was trying to kill himself.